Thank the Gods for Little Tiber!
by Cabba
Summary: Centuries after HoO, stories of other brave demigods arise.  This is just a one-shot.


_**Another random thought! Enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the original works of Percy Jackson and the Olympians and Heroes of Olympus. RR does.**_

Year: 2768

Dylan Cooper was your average nerd of some average town in an average world.

WRONG!

Seventeen year old Dylan had a secret. He had blond hair and piercing blue eyes; courtesy of his mom. She happened to be a Goddess named Athena. His dad, Sheldon Cooper, claimed to be the descendant of Sherlock Holmes.

When he was twelve, he thought that he was going nuts. But then, he realised that he found out that he was a demigod when his friend, Jean Crass, showed up in time to stop an ice-cream vendor, who had sprouted fangs and horrible talons, from murdering him with 20 gallons of strawberry ice-cream. He wasn't sure which had freaked him out more; the killer strawberry ice-cream or the goat legs which belonged to Jean. He was then introduced to a camp called Camp Half-Blood which reminded him too much of the book his English teacher had told him to read for an assignment, 'The Half-Blood Prince'. There, he learnt about the Greek Gods, his weird family, fighting and History of the Gods. Not necessarily in that order.

When he was fifteen, an even stranger thing happened. Mother Earth wanted to kill her children.

Nice Family, huh.

Chiron, a centaur, and the person to whom everybody looked for advice, announced a quest of nine demigods who were supposed to travel to Camp Jupiter to acquire allies. And Dylan refused. Why?

He was the best in archery, had the most stamina, was one of the best fighters, was up to date with all the happenings around the Camp and wasn't bad with the ladies either. So why did he refuse?

It was his girlfriend, Sandy Jackson's suggestion. She was the daughter of Hades and had Godly blood far up her mother's side of the family. She felt that he was the perfect person to pull through a horrible curse and survive. So Dylan and Sandy were now walking towards a black coloured river, underground and hands entwined. Athena had given him her blessing and a hug. He couldn't remember being hugged by anyone other than Sandy. His father was a lunatic and played an antique musical instrument called a violet...wait! Violin.

Sandy and Dylan came to a stop by the river which looked sinister in an ancient way. She shivered and hugged him who hugged her back. Pulling back, she gave him a searing kiss and then took a step back.

"Remember what I said? You have to focus your mind on a solid thought or memory. Something which means the world to you." Sandy said.

"Which means you." Dylan replied. Sandy gave a small smile. She was about to open her mouth but instead of words she let out a gasp. Dylan tuned to where she was looking and pulled out his sword at the same time.

A ghostly man stood there with an expressionless face. His semi-transparent blond hair, armour-ware and stiff stance gave away his identity.

"Achilles." Dylan muttered.

The man nodded. But before he could open his mouth the air beside him shimmered. Then two boys fell out of the shimmering mist on the ground. They looked as translucent as Achilles, but they were younger. They looked about seventeen and had contrasting features and Sandy's eyes widened.

"Luke Castellan and Percy Jackson!" She whispered.

The Heroes of the last two wars. They were dead famous (pun partially intended.) Dylan had heard stories about their bravery, seen their photos in the Hall of Fame. Dylan also knew that Sandy was a descendant from Percy Jackson.

Dylan's awe for the two heroes fell a bit when he saw them wrestling each other on the ground like children.

"I took the curse till my death! You didn't! So I get to say it-" The blond guy almost snarled.

"I lived longer than you! Tiber's almost as painful as Styx. I've had more than my fair share of pain. I earned the right to tell them-" The brunette yelled back as forcefully.

"No way!" The blond guy shouted and with one powerful move, had the brunette in a headlock. He looked at the two demigods, struggling a little, as he said, "You have come to bear the curse of the River Styx...aaaaargghhhhhh!"

The brunette had slipped out from underneath him and head butted him on the forehead. The blond fell down as the shorter boy said, "Once you enter the river, you cannot turn back, physically, mentally and emoooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOO!" The blond had tackled him from behind sending them both to the dust. Immediately Achilles, who was becoming bored, went over to them and pulled them apart, a hero in each hand.

"Perseus, Lucas, behave yourselves. I told you to share the duty. The moment they came near Styx, the both of you lost control and attacked each other. Which was why I came to tell them-"

"Tell us what?" Sandy asked, finally losing patience. Achilles let Perseus and Lucas out of his clutches. The two boys glared at each other, folded their hands and stared in opposite directions.

"To tell you that, this is a curse as well as the source of near invulnerability. You should be strong enough to with stand the power of the River first, and then you should bring your desired point of humanity within yourself to surface. Accept your fatal flaw and combine it with your strength. If you fail to do so, the River will burn your essence away." Achilles said in a voice which sounded a bit like a warning to Dylan.

The boy nodded and asked, "If you should be strong enough in all states of mind and accept you own weaknesses, how did they survive?" Dylan jerked his head in the direction of Perseus and Lucas, whose jaws dropped.

"Excuse-" Perseus started. But Achilles cut him through, "Till now, I still don't have a clue."

Perseus and Lucas stared at Achilles who chuckled. But quickly adopting a serious expression, he addressed Dylan again, "This is no joke. It a clear matter of life and death. And I suppose you can do it if your friend here, who is a daughter of Hades, thinks you can."

Dylan nodded again and asked Perseus now, "You said something about Tiber..."

The brunette looked at him and grinned, "Good question. You know why that's a good question? Its because I have the answer to it and these two don't." He said gesturing to Lucas and Achilles.

Sandy cleared her throat while Lucas said, "Shut up."

Perseus shrugged and continued, "Little Tiber, at the entrance of Camp Jupiter, removes the Curse of River Styx. In other words, you're no longer a super-demigod. It sucks at first, but you learn to value your life a bit more and take less number of naps. It's also like acid washing your skin." He shuddered, probably for effect, but Dylan thought that it was authentic.

Lucas stared at Dylan and said, "Good luck. This war seems quite as tough as the last." Sandy and Dylan muttered, "Thanks." Perseus smirked at Lucas, "Good work not making them feel nervous."

Dylan sighed and was about to face the River when Perseus whispered into his ear, "I know you'll survive. Watch Sandy's back or I'll hunt you down even though I'm dead." Dylan gulped but nodded for the third time.

"You remind me of Annabeth." Perseus said looking at Sandy who blushed. Lucas rolled his eyes, "She's your family. You can't flirt with her. It's wrong."

"Idiot." Perseus said hitting his head. The both of them said, "Bye." and vanished into the shimmering mist. Achilles sighed and said, "History repeats itself. May be a few centuries later the three of you will be fighting to say the Warning. The result is that I'm the one who always says it. Anyway, remember our warning." Achilles smiled and disappeared too.

"You know, weird just got a new meaning." Sandy said. Dylan smiled at her and said, "Yes. The moment this war is over and assuming I'm alive (Sandy hit him against the shoulder), I'm going to Camp Jupiter. I don't want to end up like Perseus and Lucas. " Dylan smirked at the names which both boys had disliked.

Sandy sighed, "Yes. Thank the Gods for Little Tiber!"

_**Like it? Love it? Hate it? Room for improvement? Comment please.**_

_**Personally, I kinda liked it a lot. What about you?**_

_**Cabba. **_


End file.
